In The Dark
by Catchingcharms
Summary: In which and vampire and a ghost eventually find in each other welcome company.
1. Chapter 1

Alma was ecstatic.

It had been just another day watching the people of New Orleans pass her by. That was her favorite pastime. The entire city and its occupants captivated Alma. It was as if she were watching a never ending movie (if she could eat popcorn, she would).

It was never boring but sometimes the days just merged together. Once you got so old, it was unavoidable. That day, however, turned out to be very eventful.

The Mikaelsons were back in town.

She heard it from whispers in the streets. All the others were nervous. They had a thing going and the Original family arriving was going to mess it all up. Chain of command would be shaken. Because the Mikaelsons were the most powerful vampires that ever existed; they were the first of their kind.

Alma didn't feel quite the same as them. For years, she wondered what the renown Mikaelsons were really like. Oh, she'd heard stories. Most of them centered around Klaus (the bloodthirsty psychopath) or Elijah (the trust worthy nobleman).

'Elijah may be noble but he's just as dangerous,' she had been warned. 'Just stay away from all of them. Just don't interfere.'

Now, she finally had her chance to get first hand experience. To hell with warnings. What did she have to fear anyways? She was already dead.

It wasn't hard finding them. First, she went to Marcel. She had been keeping tabs on him for awhile. He proved to be very interesting from early on. Alma enjoyed watching him grow into a leader, a ruler. And because he was such a great ruler, she knew he would have to be involved with the Mikaelsons. Marcel would never let somebody wander on his turf without a warm welcome and a warning.

Alma knew Marcel all too well. Not long after sitting with him, she finally got an eyeful of Klaus Mikaelson. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him (she didn't need to breathe but old habits die hard).

He walked in with head held high and shoulders back. He looked so regal. Every head turned to look at him when he entered the room; he was impossible to ignore.

"What a gorgeous man," Alma murmured as she watched him. She certainly hadn't expected him to look like that. He was a brute, a killer. He was supposed to be an ugly monster inside and out.

How could such an ugly person have such a beautiful face?

He had short, blonde curls atop his head and matching blonde stubble on face. His features were both masculine and delicate. He had baby blue eyes that didn't look like they should belong to a serial killer.

Alma squealed as she stretched out across the bar. She perched her head on her hand and leaned in towards the notorious vampire. He was sat right in front of her with Marcel by his side. The current king was prattling on about something, but Alma no longer payed him any attention.

'I wonder how long Marcel has before his position is uprooted by this one,' She thought with a giggle. Klaus certainly didn't look like one to follow orders.

Klaus gripped his glass tightly in one hand and his cold eyes stared straight ahead, right through Alma. She was used to that so it didn't bother her.

"You're a horrible person, apparently," Alma said bluntly. "But God, you're pretty." She covered her grin with her hand and fell back onto the bar.


	2. Chapter 2

Alma seemed to get caught up in the going ons of the Mikaelsons. Elijah was everything she expected and hoped him to be. _This time,_ she wasn't surprised at how dashing a Mikaelson was. He was well mannered, well groomed and was one articulate cookie; still every bit as interesting as his brother.

"Are you all so good looking?" She asked, feigning a swoon. She would just love to see the rest of them, but she was content with the two she had.

She got a kick out of watching all the scenes unfold. She watched with rapt attention when Klaus spoke of his newest plans and strategies. He never quit. He'd run into an obstacle, jump up and brush himself off, then start again.

He was... Admirable.

And then he gave away Elijah.

It was a cruel, awful thing to do. Alma had never seen anything like it and she's seen _lots_ of things. Did he have no respect for his brother at all? Faithful Elijah stood by his brothers side and had nothing to show for it.

After that, Alma gave Klaus the cold shoulder. For a while.

It was just so _hard_ watching him run around all high and mighty and proud. He should feel _awful_. The guilt should eat away at him. He should sit down every night and think about what he did and instantly want to get his brother back.

But _no._ It was "all part of the plan". Well, the plan _sucked_ and Alma figured he ought to know that. She doesn't come out of hiding that often but when she does, she _does._

So, Klaus was pretty shocked when a kitchen knife soared straight past his head and stabbed into the wall (she just couldn't bring herself to throw it at his head). At first he thought, ' _Rebekah.'_ But no, he would have heard her. He would have heard _anyone._ People don't just sneak up on him. Ever.

He turned around to face his attacker. 'How _dare_ that little... _Mouse of a girl_ attack me! And oh, that glare she has frozen on her face.' He had a smile on _his_ face but it quickly twisted into a sneer.

"Do you know who you're dealing with, love?" He asked.

He just liked to think he was _so_ deadly, _so_ terrifying. 'Well, Klaus Mikaelson, you've just met you're match.' Alma might have thought he was fearsome if she hadn't seen the way he threw hissy fits when he was alone with his family.

The hands by Alma's sides balled up into fists. "I do," she said, trying to keep an even tone.

"Then how do you think you could just come into my home and play these games with me." He never gave her a second to reply; he wasn't in the mood. He'd get information on her eventually. In a second he was by her side, reaching out for her neck.

He stared in astonishment at the empty air. His hands were grasping at nothing. "Oh, how _typical_ ," he heard her annoying voice snap from behind him. "You tried to kill me!"

"That's... That's not right," Klaus muttered, slowly turning around to face her. He should've had hold of her; he should've snapped her neck like a twig. There was _no_ possible way she could be faster than him.

"You can't kill me, you idiot!" She said, crossing her arms. "I'm already dead!"

At first, Klaus thought she meant she was dead as in vampire dead. It took him a second to realize there was no second heartbeat in the room. He couldn't smell her at all. She hadn't run from him. She had vanished.

Klaus started chuckling. And then he started laughing. "No," he said. "No, that's not..." He turned away and brought a hand up to his head. And here he thought he had seen everything in his 1000 years of existence.

He composed himself before turning back to her. He _still_ had that stupid grin on his face. "Okay, _spirit from the beyond:_ what have you to say to me? Are you here to bring me a message? Or here to judge for all my ill willed deeds on Earth?"

Alma's jaw dropped. He's condescending even to _ghosts_. Well, how friggin shocking.

She stuttered for a moment, too overcome with anger to collect her thoughts. Eventually, she got the words out. "You gave away you're brother. How could you?"

"Ah, so you _are_ here to judge me." He said, turning away from her.

"I'm here because you're an ass and you need to get your brother back!" Her voice raised to a shout. The way he acted so nonchalant about everything made her (nonexistent) blood boil.

"How do you even know about Elijah?" He asked, still walking away from her. His voice had lost its carelessness. He sounded strained.

He finally stopped in front of his cabinet of liquor and pulled out a bottle. "I would offer you a drink but well... Uh." He smirked as he looked back at her and shrugged.

'Oh, I see. _The drink would go right through me,_ ha ha ha. Hilarious, Klaus. Friggin comedian of the year.'

Alma chose to ignore his slight. "I know everything, Klaus."

"Well, aren't you the nosy one." He murmured, seeming more interested in his brandy than anything else.

"Well, what else am I supposed to do?" Alma snorted. It's pretty hard not to be nosy when you're a ghost.

Klaus finally turned back to look at her. His footsteps were loud as he slowly walked to stand in front of her. "Figure it out." He leaned down till he was face to face with her and then very clearly said, "Just leave me _alone."_

Alma was put in place just long enough for him to leave the room. "Wait! This conversation has barely started!"

Klaus sighed as he walked into the other room to see her reclining comfortably in a chair. "Now..." She said, twirling a steak knife in her hand. "About Elijah..."


	3. Chapter 3

Pretty soon, Alma had another person on her side, fighting for Elijah. Rebekah Mikaelson had rolled into town and Alma had a constant smug smile on her face.

Because Girl Power.

Now, whenever she caught Klaus alone, she would always pop in to say hi. She believed (hoped) it was driving him mad. He'd stomp off but he was never able to escape her. She'd just trail behind him, acting as if she had no idea her company was unwanted.

Klaus rarely had anything to say to her, besides when he was ordering her to go away. For that reason alone, Alma always liked to pull conversation from him. They always proved... Interesting.

"So," he had said to her one day, a sly grin forming on his face. "Are those like... Ghost clothes?"

Her mouth dropped and her eyes widened to the size of saucers. "... What?"

"Well... What would happen to them if you took them off? Would they disappear? Because, they're not exactly real clothes. _Could_ you even take them off?"

"Klaus, _I don't know!"_

"I'm sorry, but they are pretty outdated, love."

"I know this."

She had laughed at that. A lot. She even thought she might have saw him crack a genuine smile.

(-)

She witnessed something she knew she would never forget. She watched as he killed an entire crowd of vampires. She didn't feel appalled, like she had when he gave his brother away. Actually, she was amazed by his skill and strength.

He never grew tired; he never faltered. He was truly undefeatable. Alma's jaw had dropped as she looked on in awe (she seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Klaus had that jaw dropping effect on people).

"I'm so glad I didn't miss this," she had murmured. (This was surely a popcorn worthy moment.)

Afterwards, she walked through the mass of dead bodies. For some reason, one in particular stood out to her. Alma crouched down next to the body for a closer inspection.

Her face fell. "That looks a bit like me, doesn't it?" Her voice came out as a whisper. Her and the dead vampire did share common features. Light hair, light skin, small nose, small lips... Young. Dead.

The poor girls pretty blue eyes were still open. Alma looked around, making sure she was alone, before she reached over and gently pressed the stranger's eyelids closed.

(-)

"What is it about killing that you enjoy so much?" Alma asked him later that day. She realized once she'd asked it that it was a bit of an unfair question. After all, those vampires had attacked _him_ first.

But what about all the others before them? The ones who didn't attack first?

When he never replied, she said, "don't worry, I'm not _judging_ you. We all have our little... Quirks." The corner of his lips twitched. "I'm just curious."

"When people ask for it," he said slowly, "I deliver."

That was the end of that conversation.

(-)

Sometimes both Klaus and Alma would forget Rebekah was around. The sister would frequently hear Klaus talking and sometimes she almost thought she heard a female voice.

But Rebekah would know if someone else was in her house. Right? Of course, there was the werewolf girl. But even when she was gone... Klaus would still be talking to some mysterious stranger.

Rebekah couldn't help but be snoopy. Soon, whenever she'd hear Niklaus speak, she'd quickly find herself in the same room as him. There was never a third person. She could only assume he had started talking to _himself._

She wondered if he had gone mad with old age.

Klaus always noticed how Alma never let anybody else see her. It irritated him to no end. He could only imagine what a fool he must look like to his sister when she walked in on him when he was in mid conversation.

"Why do you insist on tormenting me and only me?" He eventually asked the ghost (pest), obviously annoyed. He lay on his bed, an arm thrown over his face, covering his eyes.

"Because you're smoking hot." Alma plopped down on the bed, sprawling out next to him. "And I'm making sure you get your brother back, of course."

"Why do you even care?" A muscle in his cheek flexed.

"Because he's a good guy. And you shouldn't betray family. And I have nothing better to do, so..."

They sat in silence for awhile. Klaus stared up at the ceiling and Alma stared at Klaus. He tried to ignore her, he really did, but he could just _feel_ her eyes boring into him.

"Nobody else knows about you." He murmured. He wondered why she showed herself to only him; wondered why she didn't just stay hidden or just make herself known to everybody. He wondered if maybe she was just lonely.

"Nope and I intend to keep it that way." She told him. "They wouldn't make very fun entertainment if they were constantly on guard."

That makes sense.

Then something dawned on Klaus. "You're right." He said slowly. Alma grew wary as she watched his eyes light up. "They're not on guard when they think they've got privacy. I bet you know all of Marcel's dirty little secrets."

He was feeling quite chuffed with himself until he looked over and realized Alma was gone.

"Seriously, Nik, who are you talking to?" Rebekah stood in the doorway, with hands on her hips. Her eyebrows were raised and she wore an expectant look on her face.

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Just the friendly neighborhood ghost."


End file.
